Melbourne-Avalon Airport

The rebuild of the Malaysian medium- and long-haul LCC’s network is continuing with the restart of routes to Melbourne, Perth and Auckland.

The LCC expects domestic capacity in Australia to top 2019 levels by the end of March next year.

Ten domestic routes are being reinstated by the carriers alongside frequency increases on a further five.

While Jetstar and Sunwing are resuming suspended routes, Porter Airlines has further delayed its planned restart and Norwegian is preparing to ground 15 of the 21 aircraft currently in operation.

Qantas plans to park 150 aircraft in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but all will be returned to operation when the current crisis is over.

This week: VietJet is launching its first direct service to Australia; Ethiopian Airlines is returning to Athens after 18 years; and Ural Airlines to enter Moscow - London market.

The Australian state of Victoria is to get its second international airport after AirAsia confirmed plans to switch its operations from Melbourne Airport to Avalon Airport.